2014 Gunpla Year in Review

2014 brought us the amazing Gundam Build Fighters and Gundam Build Fighters Try, the silly Gundam-San, and the unpredictable new Gundam Reconguista In G.

Alongside these shows, we saw the release of more than 50 new Gunpla models, primarily based on the shows airing now, but sometimes rendering new versions of old favorites or never before seen customs.

Worried you missed one? We’ve compiled a comprehensive guide of every Gunpla model that came out in 2014 with a few thoughts.* Have you bought or built any of these? Let everyone know in the comments if you have buying advice or a Gunpla review!

Table of Contents

Perfect Grade (PG/60)

We don’t always get a new Perfect Grade every year and in fact, Unicorn is the first new model to be released since 2010! Like the real Gundam Unicorn, it’s especially dynamic, in that it can revert between Unicorn Mode and Destroy Mode in seconds.

Even better, you can also buy an LED unit to make it completely light up! We saw a picture of this on Twitter and it looks incredible.

I love the purple details! As is typical for Version Ka Gunpla, this kit envisions the primary Gundam from Char’s Counterattack as if Sunrise’s most celebrated mecha designer Hajime Katoki had designed it. I’m told the stickers are unusually tricky to apply, so this probably is not a good idea for your very first Master Grade, no matter how cool it looks.

Just in time for anime distributor Right Stuf to release Turn A Gundam in the English language, Bandai released Turn X, the primary antagonist of the series. The models from Turn A are designed by American industrial designer Syd Mead of Blade Runner fame, and are completely unique among the Gundam pantheon.

Reborn (RE/100)

Nightingale has always been either too big for the High Grade or too costly for the Master Grade, so it was a perfect first model for Bandai’s experimental new grade. This model is larger than a High Grade, but without the complicated internal frame of a Master Grade.

We wouldn’t have recommended you buy this otherwise impressive model when it came out in July—almost immediately, Bandai issued a recall due to defective parts. Now that it has been reissued, be sure to ensure sellers are giving you the latest version of it.

Aila built this suit in Gundam Build Fighters after she defected from Nemesis and wanted a Gunpla that reflected her own battling experiences. I love how you can see Aila’s priorities and strengths when you look at this model.

I remember when John and I first watched Knight Gundam’s cartoon, an ‘80s show where Knight Gundam is a mobile suit living among people the same size as him, and nobody bats an eye! This model captures some of that old school charm.

You might notice this is more expensive than your average SD. It is also twice the size of your average SD. It is also twice your average SD, period, because it’s actually two suits that can be posed together or alone.

A word of warning for Gundam Unicorn SD models–they are extremely elaborate with lots of decoration, and when that gets shrunk down to this size, they’re not very posable. Fortunately, there’s a lot to look at here even if you can’t move the feet much.

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Of all the 2014 releases i only managed to get 4 of them, the banshee norn SD the neo zeong SD (that was so much fun putting together) the Grimoire with its uniquely soft feeling but strong plastic and the Turn X gundam. All of them were so much fun, however, the turn X everyone should be careful as it has very weak clear parts for the stand, they can actully break and it makes them very loose. They are all still fun though and cant wait to start airbrushing them.

Its also perhaps the easiest MG kit out there besides some of the super early 90s kit cause those dont have an inner frame. This one kind of doesnt have an inner frame, but its very unique enough to stand out on its own, try to be careful with the clear pieces when you put them on, as they wont be coming back off without breaking them, so if you paint be sure to tape them up~ i hope this helps you out.

Really nice list but don’t forget the MG Build MKII i love it!, the fantstic RE/100 Nightingale, the HG Gundam Z II nice kit but quite weird looking MS xD and the old GM Sniper this time with new colors and backpack (k9).
Btw just find your blog today and it’s really nice! have a happy gunpla new year 🙂

@disqus_2BDuEPiJbI:disqus thank you so, SO much for spotting these! I just added all the ones you mentioned. I didn’t even know about RE/100 yet!! We’re so lucky to have readers like you that keep us accurate =)